SHELLBARK HICKORY
Many people who hike through the woods may see trees with loose, shaggy bark. Although those trees are probably Shagbark Hickories (Carya ovata [Miller] K. Koch), they might also be Shellbark Hickories (Carya laciniosa [F. Michaux] G. Don ex Loudon).
Shellbark Hickories are members of the Order Fagales, the Family Juglandaceae, the Subfamily Juglandoideae, the Tribe Caryeae or Juglandeae, and the Subtribe Caryinae. They can hybridize with other Hickory species.
The generic name, Carya, is from the Greek word karya, which is “walnut”. The specific epithet, laciniosa, is Latin for “shredded”, referring to the splitting of the bark.Previous scientific names for this species wereHicoria laciniosa (F. Michaux) Sargent and Juglans laciniosa F. Michaux.
The common name, Hickory, is from the Algonquin Indian namespawhiccorri, pockerchicory, pocohicora, or pohickery.Shell is from the Teutonic word, skal, which is “to peel or separate”. Other common names for this species are Bigleaf Hickory, Bigleaf Shagbark Hickory, Big Shellbark Hickory, Bottom Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory, and Thick Shellbark Hickory.
Shellbark Hickory is moderately shade tolerant when young but becomes less shade tolerant as it ages. It is slow growing and long lived.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SHELLBARK HICKORY
Height: Its height is 50-130 feet.
Diameter: Its diameter is 1-4 feet.
Trunk: Its trunk is tall, straight, smooth, and columnar.
Crown: Its crown is narrow, open, rounded, oblong, oval,and cylindrical. It has short, stout, and spreading branches that droop near their ends.
Twigs: Its twigs are stout, angular, and orange-brown.Its lenticels are narrow, elongated, and orange. The twigs are hairy when young.Its pith is dark, solid, and star-shaped. The leaf scars are alternate, triangular or cordate with 3 lobes, and are slightly raised.The leaf scars are alternate, slightly raised, and triangular or cordate with 3 lobes.White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann) eat these twigs.
Buds: Its terminal buds are about ½-1¼ inches long with 3-5dark brown, pointed,loose-fitting, overlapping scales. (These buds are both larger and hairier than the Shagbark Hickory.) The lateral buds are alternate, about ½ inches long, and divergent. Squirrels (Family Sciuridae) eat these buds.
Leaves: Its leaves are alternate, odd-pinnately compound, and deciduous. Each leaf is about 10-27 inches long and about 12 inches wide. Each leaf has 5-11 (usually 7) leaflets. (Shagbark Hickories have fewer and smaller leaflets).Its rachis is stout and hairy. These leaves are aromatic when crushed. They turn yellow to brown in the fall. White-tailed Deer eat these leaves.
Each leaflet is about2½-10 inches long and about 1-5 inches wide. The top 3 leaflets are larger than the lower leaflets.The leaflet has a pointed tip, a narrowly wedged or rounded base, and finely toothed margins. They are nearly sessile.These leaflets are smooth and dark yellow green above and are downy or velvety below.
Its petioles are stout, shiny or downy, light green, and about 3-6 inches long. They persist upon the branches throughout the winter.
Flowers:Its flowers are monoecious, have no petals, and are wind-pollinated. Its male (staminate) flowers are arranged in 3 stalked, slender, yellow-green, and 3-8 inch long, drooping catkin clusters. They each have a short green calyx with 2-4 lobes and have 3-10 stamenswith short filamentsand yellow hairy anthers. Its female (pistillate) flowers are arranged in spiked clusters of 2-6 and are located at the tip of the same twig as the males. They are green, densely hairy, and have 2 light green stigmas.This tree produces flowers after 20 years. Flowering season is April to June.
Fruits: Its fruits are arranged solitarily or in clusters of 2-3. It is about 1-3 inches long and is rounded, oblong, or ellipsoid. Its husks are about ¼ -¾ inches thick, hairy, dark brown to light yellow-brown, 4-parted, and split from the tip to the base. Its nuts are about 1-2 inches wide, ovate, yellow-white to light red-brown, and 4-6-ridged.Its shell is hard and thick. These are the largest nuts of all Hickory species.This tree produces fruit after 40 years and producesa good crop every 1-3 years. Fruiting season is August to November.
The ripened nuts are eaten by Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa L.), Northern Bobwhite Quails (Colinus virginianus L.), Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo L.), Woodpeckers (Family Picidae), American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos Brehm), Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata L.), Nuthatches (Genus Sitta), large Rodents (Order Rodenta), Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus L.), Raccoons (Procyon lotor L.), and White-tailed Deer. These nuts are dispersed by animals and by flowing water.
Bark: Its young bark is slate gray, thin, and smooth with shallow, interlacing ridges. Its mature barkis rough-textured, has shaggy plates,and loosens into3-4 foot long narrow strips at their ends. (These strips are longer, narrower, and less shaggy than the strips of the Shagbark Hickory).
The shaggy bark provides roosting habitat for Indiana Bats (Myotis sodalist Miller & Allen). This barkmay have evolved to discourage Squirrels from climbing the tree to get to the unripened and the unfallen nuts.
Wood: Its wood is hard, heavy, strong, tough, elastic and shock-resistant. It is close-grained, straight-grained, and ring-porous. Its heartwood is red-brown and its sapwood is thin and white.
Roots: Its roots consist of a deep, prominent taproot with smaller lateral roots. This tree is windfirm.
Habitat: Its habitats consist of bottomlands, floodplains, and swamps. It was first observed in river bottoms by early European explorers.
Range: Its range mainly consists of the Ohio River valley, the mid-Mississippi River valley, and the southern Great Lakes. (Its range is smaller than that of the Shagbark Hickory).
Uses of the Shellbark Hickory:
The Shellbark Hickory has many of the same uses as other Hickories. This species is often marketed with other Hickories.
The wood is used for wagon wheel spokes, ladder rungs, barrel hoops, snowshoe rims, tool handles, agriculture implements, sporting goods, furniture, cabinetry, paneling, flooring, veneer, pulpwood, charcoal, and fuel. It burns very hot and is used for smoking meat.The wood ashes were used as a salt substitute.
This wood must be seasoned to avoid shrinkage, warping, and checking. It rots easily if repeatedly left wet. This wood blunts sharp tools, splits when nailed, and does not adhere well to glue. It takes staining and polishing well. Because the wood splits, it was used for making split brooms and baskets.
Shellbark Hickory had some medicinal uses. Parts of this tree were used for treating common colds and polio pain. It was also used as a diaphoretic and as an emetic. The bark was used as dressing for cuts.
The nuts are sweet and edible. They contain about 13-15% proteins, about 15% carbohydrates, about 65-70% fats, vitamin E, and various minerals. They can be roasted and eaten or cooked with soups and stews. The nuts are best collected in the fall and stored in a cool, dry location. They can keep for up to 2 years.
The nuts were sometimes pounded, boiled, and skimmed for their oil. This oil was used as a butter substitute. The oil was also used in lamps.
Some Native American tribes ground up the husks and used them to stun fish.
The loose bark was collected, scrubbed, roasted, boiled, and sweetened with sugar to make hickory syrup. Shagbark Hickory bark was also used for making hickory syrup.
The inner bark was once peeled off in the spring. It was used for making rope and for woven chair seats.
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carya_laciniosa